Being the kind of person that I am, I’ve tried out quite a few of the online IQ/personality type tests, and generally I fare pretty well, with a guilty understanding that the more often I do them, the higher I am likely to score [due to familiarity with the general style and format].

Strangely, it never occurred to me that the results might actually be rigged, so that even answering randomly in the Tickle IQ test still gets me a score of 90, accompanied by the feel-good blurb:

Your Intellectual Type is Precision Processor. This means you’re exceptionally good at discovering quick solutions to problems, especially ones that involve math or logic. You’re also resourceful and able to think on your feet. And that’s just some of what we know about you from your test results.*

Rather annoyed by this, I went off to try to find a "real" test… and this is where I probably should have remembered that old adage, "Be careful what you wish for…"

Suffice it to say that is tougher than most, largely because of its rigidly enforced time limit, after which it closes the page automatically — it’s just like having someone yell "Time’s up!" and snatch away your test paper! And if you don’t finish within the allotted 15 minutes you can’t just go back and take the test again… not unless you change your IP and sign in with a different email [and doing that would make you a dirty cheater].

Ow… my ego!

So after that annoyingly realistic test, I recommend the palate-cleansing , which once you’ve completed it will tell you [for the first time]:

Your Complete Personal Intelligence Profile has been generated and can be accessed immediately for only $9.95.

…and wouldn’t ya know it, I score wa-a-a-ay better on this one! [they also send you your basic score via email, in the hope that you’ll purchase the "complete profile"].

__________

* I should note that tucked further down the page, after the bit telling me how smart I am and trying to sell me something, is a small paragraph which reads: "You may have adult Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), a condition your doctor can help treat. Take a brief screener to find out if you may have the symptoms." [Uh-oh…]

This entry was posted on Friday, March 18th, 2005 at 1:11 am and is filed under Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.